AFTER THE VERDICT: Akbar Khaleeli, former Indian High Commissioner to Australia and Shakereh's first husband, with his daughter Ishmath, in Bangalore on Monday . — Photo: K. Gopinathan

BANGALORE: The High Court of Karnataka on Monday upheld the order of a lower court sentencing Shraddananda, a self-styled godman, to death for murdering his wife, Begum Shakereh Namazi, granddaughter of Sir Mirza Ismail, former Dewan of Mysore. The court upheld his conviction on September 12 and posted the sentence for Monday.

A Division Bench comprising Justice S.R. Bannurmath and A.C. Kabbin rejected a criminal revision petition by Shraddananda (69) against the order of death sentence issued by B. S. Thotadthe, 23rd Additional City, Civil and Sessions Judge, on May 21, 2005.

Relief for family

Soon after Mr. Justice Bannurmath read out the order in a packed court hall, members of Shakereh's family burst into tears and hugged one another. They said justice has been done.

The prosecution's case was that Shraddananda, earlier known as Murli Manohar Mishra (69), had drugged Shakereh, placed her body in a coffin, and buried it in a corner in the compound of her sprawling bungalow on Richmond Road, Bangalore, on April 28, 1991. Shakereh married Shraddananda in 1986 after divorcing Akbar Khaleeli, a former diplomat. The prosecution contended that Shraddananda wanted to usurp Shakereh's property and continued to live in her bungalow after her death.

Complaint

Shakereh's daughter, Sabah, lodged a missing-person complaint with the police. In April 1994, Shakereh's body was exhumed and Shraddananda was arrested.

The Bench said in its order that Special Public Prosecutor H.S. Chandramouli had rightly held that the murder fell in the category of "rarest of rare" cases, and the death sentence ordered by the lower court should be confirmed. Shraddananda's lawyer Hanumantharaya opposed the death penalty.

The Bench said that though there is not enough material to show that Shakereh met a violent end, she was administered a drug and died in her sleep. "Though the act was not brutal, the planning by the accused indicated a scheming and diabolic mind." After her divorce, "Shakereh gave up her high-society profile and married an ordinary man. She had nothing to gain but his love," the court said.

"The marriage brought only comforts to Shraddananda. Moreover, a will executed in his name, guaranteed him comforts. Despite this, he wanted to gain immediately and eliminated her," it said.

It noted that the murder may have gone unnoticed but for the intervention of Ms. Sabah. The missing-person complaint had been "buried deep" by the Ashok Nagar police. The murder may not have been brutal, but it was more cruel than the act of a violent man, and such a man is more dangerous to society, the judges said. "A person who plans in a cool and cunning manner ought to be hanged as there is no chance of his reformation. Shakereh was a helpless woman, and her trust was broken," the Bench said.

Appeal dismissed

It said the age factor and conduct cited by the accused for mercy are of no avail as the good conduct in jail may only have been a mask. The court said it is of the opinion that the Sessions Judge was justified in sentencing Shraddananda to death. It dismissed the appeal and directed the Sessions Court to hand over the remains of Shakereh to her family. The Bench refused to stay the sentence after Shraddananda's counsel said he will appeal to the Supreme Court to rule against the confirmation of the death sentence.

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